Explorer has caused an error in SHELL32.DLL

When I click on the start button, the message "Explorer
has caused an error in SHELL32.DLL" comes up, the screren
refereshes and everything except the volume control
disappears from the system tray. There is no way of
getting the start menu back. I looked on the knowledge bas
but couldn't find any record of the error mesage. Can
anyone help?

Have you checked for viruses and other malware such as commercial parasites?

You may want to check out the MS KB259096 - "Error Message When You Open a New
Folder" (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=259096) and see if that suggestion
helps solve you problem.

This might be a good time to download yourself a copy of the free
Ad-Aware 6.0 from Lavasoft (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/) and
also SpyBot Search & Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/) and use them
to check your system for other commercial parasites remembering that they are
only as good as when you last updated their reference files. I also use a
program called BHODemon (http://www.definitivesolutions.com/bhodemon.htm that
checks for unwanted Browser Help Objects and SpywareBlaster
(http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareblaster.html) which can help prevent
some parasites getting a grip on your PC.

Then there is CWShredder
(http://www.zerosrealm.com/downloads/CWShredder.zip or
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip) which is the best way
of getting rid of the many forms of the CoolWebSearch hijacker details of
which can be found at http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html
and also http://www.pestpatrol.com/pestinfo/c/cws.asp.
--
Mike Maltby MS-MVP



John Kirk wrote:

When I click on the start button, the message "Explorer
has caused an error in SHELL32.DLL" comes up, the screren
refereshes and everything except the volume control
disappears from the system tray. There is no way of
getting the start menu back. I looked on the knowledge bas
but couldn't find any record of the error mesage. Can
anyone help?